


Lessons Learned

by QuoteMyFoot



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Family Fluff, Female My Unit | Byleth, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 16:57:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20294878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuoteMyFoot/pseuds/QuoteMyFoot
Summary: Byleth asks for Jeralt's help.Written for FE Gen Week, Day 1: horizon/ride.





	Lessons Learned

"You want me to teach you to ride?"

Byleth blinks back at him. As usual, her face reveals nothing. She's never expressed an interest in riding, but then again, the last time she expressed an interest in anything was when she asked to learn how to defend herself when she was a child.

Grown now, and engaged as a Professor at Garrag Mach, she's more independent than ever. Well—not quite. She seems to have bonded with her students, voluntarily seeking them out during her free time. Jeralt has even seen the ghost of a smile cross her face once or twice.

She comes to see him too, of course, but at times it feels almost… perfunctory.

_Ah, look at me, becoming such a silly old goose. _

When he heard that parents got anxious about kids leaving the nest, he didn't think it would happen to him. Yet here he is, still trying to find ways to keep his daughter close.

"Marianne is interested in horses," Byleth says eventually, nodding. "Perhaps if I had more experience in riding, she and I would have more to talk about."

_Always another angle, isn't there, kid? _Jeralt can't help but laugh. "She's caught your eye, has she?"

"She has potential," Byleth responds, a hint of frustration in her voice, "but she lacks confidence. I feel that I need to gain her trust before I can work with her, though."

"Well, if you think it'll help, I'll be happy to teach you how to fight on horseback."

Byleth nods, and then—she smiles. A real smile, the likes of which Jeralt has only seen a handful of times in his life. It lights up her face and… ah, she looks so much like her mother right then. If only she could be here with Byleth… maybe she'd have known better how to get their daughter to open up. She's been the most important thing in Jeralt's life for over twenty years, and yet he feels like he's barely scratched the surface.

"I'd like that." Byleth is still smiling. "Thank you, Papa. I can always rely on you."

Jeralt grins and can't help but ruffle her hair like he used to do when she was younger. It's been hard with Byleth, losing her mother just as she was born, never quite knowing what she's thinking, having to learn to read her expressions down to the tiniest detail. But times like this, he knows it was all worth it.

"Of course you can rely on me, kiddo. That's what fathers are for."


End file.
